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Landscape Lighting Helps Apartment Marketing Burn into the Night

Just because the lights go off in the property management office doesn’t mean that on-site apartment marketing should go dark. Websites and social media chatter keep promotional fires burning into the night online, but landscape lighting continues to market the physical property long after the sun goes down.

Properly installed and maintained outdoor landscape lighting adds to the property’s curb appeal in the evening when many potential renters could be window shopping. Highlighting the monument sign out front or up-lighting a majestic tree or structure creates an atmosphere of elegance while offering a feeling of comfort and security.

Landscape Lighting Improves Curb Appeal and Usability

Landscape lighting helps create a resort-like feel that unifies the apartment buildings and landscape, improving a property’s curb appeal. A well-lit landscape highlights textures that cannot be seen in normal daylight as well as create a warm feeling by enhancing building architecture, stone work, landscape beds, and trees. Ideally, lighting should shine on something that serves a purpose.

Outdoor lighting also encourages residents to use the property’s amenities well after the sun goes down. Soft lighting creates an ambiance for social gatherings around the pool at night or in other areas designed for community events.

Perform AM/PM Landscape Lighting Checks

Badly maintained lighting may alert potential residents and remind existing ones that the apartment property isn’t well maintained. Burned out or misdirected lights could negate your positive apartment marketing messages and lead residents to write negative online reviews. A light shining in the wrong direction may even pose a safety hazard. Have your property management and maintenance teams check the lighting in the mornings or evenings. If you employ night security personnel, have them check the lighting while making the rounds.

Proper Lighting Protects Residents

Properly placed landscape lighting gives residents a clear path through the property by illuminating potential hazards with steps, low-hanging or thorny vegetation, abrupt elevation changes, or obstacles in walkways. Even though the property may be easy to navigate during the day, nightfall creates potential issues if areas are not well lit.

Showcase Your Property—and Save Energy

With today’s energy-saving lighting, illuminating a property is much cheaper and safer than you might think. It used to be that outdoor lighting took a bite out of the electric bill, but many lighting systems today use energy-efficient LED lighting that consumes 75 percent less energy than incandescent lighting. Also, fixtures that once cost $300-$400 each can be purchased much less expensively and will last longer–most lighting is rated to last more than 40,000 hours, which equates to more than 10 years of running time.

The return on investment for upgrading or replacing an existing energy-consuming system can be two to three years based on the energy savings using today’s highly efficient lighting systems. Also the LED lamps do not generate heat, making them safe for properties where children live. A standard incandescent fixture is hot to touch and is more than 240 degrees Fahrenheit whereas and LED light is warm at most to the touch.

Whether or not a potential renter is looking for a new place, a well-lit apartment property leaves a powerful impression that can separate one property from the next.

Do you consider landscape lighting as part of your apartment marketing or simply an extension of the community’s overall landscape? Do leave the planning and budgeting of outdoor lighting to your property management teams or is part of a portfolio-wide plan?

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Chris Lee is President of Dallas, Texas-based Earthworks, which specializes in multifamily housing landscaping. He is a contributing author to Landscape Management magazine, licensed irrigation specialist and a Toro Intellisense certified technician. Chris studied business at the University of Arkansas from 1990-94 and horticulture and landscape design at Tarrant County College from 1999-01. He has been employed at Earthworks since 1998.